DCFC

Since I've been posting about firsts lately, it makes a good segway to share the first time I saw Death Cab for Cutie.

It was in 1998 at the 3B tavern in Bellingham, WA. It was a typical night and the bar was pretty full. My friend Danielle had told me that Death Cab was really good and I should check them out. As luck would have it, I was working the night that they played, so I was there for anyway. I was working the door at the 3B just checking IDs and taking cover charges from people.

I didn't really know what to expect, but I knew that there were a lot of bands that people freaked out about that I wasn't that impressed with...so I didn't have my hopes up. I just sat there and read my Rocket and looked bored, like most bar staff do.

When they took the stage, they looked a lot like other indie bands that play in the Northwest. They were thin and wore t-shirts and jeans. They looked like most of my guy frineds in Bellingham. Then they picked up their instruments and the music started. I was pleasantly surprised! I sat up and paid attention. Their album "Something About Airplanes" had just come out and they played a lot of songs off that record. Their sound was beautiful and the more I listened, the more I liked them. It was the best show that I saw the whole time I worked at the bar. The music was good and the crowd was nice.

After they finished playing, one of the bartenders said that he thought that band was going somewhere. He couldn't have known how right he was. We had no idea we'd be hearing them on shows like the "OC", seeing them in "Entertainment Weekly", and reading that they'd gotten signed to Atlantic.

I still like Death Cab for Cutie a lot. They'll always remind me of college and of living in Bellingham. Whenever I listen to "Something About Airplanes", I can imagine sitting on the porch at my house on Garden Street, just waiting for something to happen.